Analytic philosophy

Analytic philosophy is a philosophical practice characterized by an emphasis on argumentative clarity and precision, often making use of formal logic, conceptual analysis, and, to a lesser degree, mathematics and the natural sciences began in the late 19th century, prompted by the mathematical theories and new theories in logic of the German philosopher Gottlob Frege. Although it was a German who gave the impetus for the emergence of analytic philosophy, its following was mostly Anglo-American. The philosophy was a broad philosophical tradition, characterizing emphasis on clarity in argument achieved through formal logic and analysis of language, and also having respect for the natural sciences; it had an empirical element to it. Central figures included Frege, Bertrand Russell, G.E. Moore, and Ludwig Wittgenstein. Analytic philosophers consider their inquiries to be at most subordinate to the natural sciences, and they are at odds with traditional philosophy, insofar as that traditional philosophy focused on first principles instead of focusing on the clarification of thoughts. Through the use of logical symbols, philosophers could teach logic as if it was an algebraic equation. The way of representing a proposition (though formal grammar and symbolic logic) reduced it to simple components, presenting a logical similarity with all other propositions of a similar type. According to Russell, it was able to achieve definite answers and to have the quality of science rather than philosophy, and that it could tackle its problems one at a time. Its methods resembled those of science, but analytic philosophers have had widely divergent interests, assumptions, and methods. The ideology is defined more by its style and its resistance to imprecise discussions of broad topics than its views.